O’Donovan reckons there is a lot of “propaganda” around the split season and the Treaty ace feels a lot of work is needed to strike a “healthy balance.
“For an inter-county player, the season actually never really ends. Everyone is on the about the split season and I think there’s a lot of propaganda around it,” the Doon clubman told the Irish Independent.
“Take TJ Reid, for example. He has played the whole 12 months the last two years with no real break. You see it with the Derry lads there, like Conor Glass, it’s hurting the elite players. But it’s hurting the club players as well.
“A lot of conversations need to be had between clubs, counties and the GAA, in general. I see it in our club. How do you motivate club players to stay training, when do they go back? Do they go back in February? Do they go back in April?
“Should we just wait until the first week of May to go back if the championships don’t start until the end of July? Is there a point in being down in the muck and s*** in February and March? Who’s getting any benefit out of that?”
The five-time All-Ireland SHC winner suggests that a competitive provincial club league competition could help to fill the void as he feels that motivation is low for many club players for large spells of the year.
“It’s hard for lads to stay motivated, we lost a lot of lads to America. It’s finding that healthy balance. I know it’s in the initial phase of it, but it’s a big challenge to get it right. Maybe they could start some sort of provincial league,” he said.
“You could have a serious League going on the weekends of inter-county championships, where there’s something to motivate club players. If lads aren’t making the 26 for their county, they’re sent back to play for the clubs in these league games.
“Maybe they’re on a Saturday or Sunday morning, say Limerick are playing Tipperary in Thurles on the Sunday afternoon and Patrickswell could be playing Thurles Sarsfields at 11 o’clock that morning.
“At least there’s a connection there, and it’s not getting lost, and there’s some kind of motivating factor behind it. The GAA need to sit down and get the thoughts of the players.
“A lot of surveys are done and they’re lip-service exercises rather than sitting down and meeting players and seeing what they have to say. I see it with our lads in the club and it’s really not working for them. They’re just not motivated.”
